Baby I'm Yours
by cullen3
Summary: Edward promises to write to Bella weekly when he moves across the country. When she doesn't receive anything from him, she tries to move on with Jacob. But what happens when Edward comes back to Forks for a visit? AU. First FanFic. ExB
1. Chapter 1

**The characters are not mine... they belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer...**

**I only enjoy making them do the things I want them to. :)  
**

_BPOV_

_Music:_

_Baby, I'm yours_

_And I'll be yours until the stars fall from the sky_

_Yours, until the rivers all run dry_

_In other words_

_Until I die…_

"_Baby, I'm yours_…" he whispered into my ear.

Swaying to and fro, my head on his shoulder, face in the crook of his neck, I knew this was what I wanted for the rest of my life. Nothing felt quite like the feeling of being pressed against the man I had loved and counted on for the past 2 years. The feel of his rhythmic breathing warming my neck with each exhale sent goose bumps down the right side of my body. His left hand was holding my right to his chest while his other hand settled on my lower back, keeping my body in stride with his own.

The night sky was surprisingly clear, showing all the stars twinkling just for us. Creating our own special disco ball of lights. Standing outside the gym, near Edward's Volvo with Barbara Lewis singing our song just for us, I knew this was so much more romantic than anything going on inside the gym.

"_And I'll be yours until the sun no longer shines, until the poets run out of rhyme. In other words, until the end of time_," he sang softly to me.

Inhaling deeply, I put this moment in time forever in my memory. I wanted to lock it away where I could pull it out and relive this time together anytime I wished. It felt as though things couldn't get any better than they were at this very second, dancing by ourselves by the light of the moon and stars. It would never to be forgotten.

"Bella?"

"Mmm?" I replied softly, my body still swaying with his.

"Bella, I have to tell you something." His voice sounded shaky. Almost like he was nervous. I felt his body stiffen a bit against mine and stop moving.

Lifting my head from his shoulder, I looked into his beautiful face to find it looking sad. Tonight had been perfect. What could possibly be wrong?

I raised my eyebrows as if to ask what was the matter and he looked away, seeming lost in his thoughts. His eyes gave away that he was trying to choose his words carefully. And were those tears welling in his eyes? This couldn't be good. My heart started racing at the many thoughts that ran through my own mind waiting for him to spit it out. And just when I thought I'd come up with the worst possible scenario, he proved me wrong.

"Bella, my family is moving away at the end of the school year. My father just told me this morning."

I couldn't possibly have heard him correctly. Moving? Where? And for how long? My heart was shattering, falling to pieces as we stood in the darkness. This was not happening.

Seeming to know that I would need to know more than just the fact that he was leaving, and probably noticing my sudden change in demeanor, Edward pulled me tighter to himself and took a deep breath.

"My father has taken a job at a hospital in Virginia. He's expected to start there in July. I don't know how long we'll be there, but I swear, I will write to you every week. And I'm sure I can work out trips back here to see you." He was trying to keep himself composed in front of me, and failing at it. I could hear the hurt in his voice. I could feel it in his tensed muscles surrounding me.

"Edward…"

I couldn't get anything else out without breaking down into complete sobbing. My throat was so tight and my chest aching. My heart beating so hard and so fast that I could feel it in my ears as I tried to keep my tears inside. The need to let this new flood of emotions out was becoming unbearable.

I felt Edward release my hand at his chest and move to wrap my trembling body completely within his own. He was holding me as tight as he could, almost crushing me. But I didn't care. My only love, the one who held me through all the many good times we had shared and the bad, oh the bad times, was leaving for an unknown amount of time on the opposite side of the country.

I felt his face move closer to my left ear and just listened to his sweet voice singing our song to me, allowing myself to absorb his every move, every note, every breath, every beat of his heart.

"_Nothing in the world can drive me away, _

_cause every day you'll hear me say_

_Baby, I'm yours_

_And I'll be yours until two and two is three_

_Yours, until the mountain crumbles to the sea_

_In other words, until eternity…"_

"I love you Edward." I whispered through my quiet crying.

"You are my world Bella. Nothing will ever change that. No matter how far apart we are. I am now, and will always be YOURS." His voice seemed to be getting more and more quiet as he spoke. Like he was getting farther away from me.

I lifted my hands to either side of his beautiful face, staring intently into his gorgeous green eyes and whispered, "There will never be anyone but you."

Suddenly, my hands were no longer touching his face. What's going on? No! He was getting farther! I could see him slowly moving away like something unknown was driving us apart despite my struggle to stay next to him.

"Bella!" he cried although barely audible. His beautiful face gazed at me through his obvious pain.

Farther and farther…

"NO!" I cried between sobs. Hard as I tried, my body was unwilling to move. I was stuck and my Edward was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

"Bella!" Suddenly my name was cried right in front of my face it seemed. Like someone was yelling at me. But, that wasn't Edward's voice, was it?

"Bella! Get up!"

No, that was definitely not my Edward. It sounded familiar but feminine… and slightly annoying.

"Bella, get out of this bed right now!" the voice screamed.

I caught a last glimpse of my now barely visible Edward as he mouthed the words, "Baby, I'm yours. I love you."

Shaking. What in the world?

"Bella, I swear. You are far too old for me to be having to get you out of bed. It's almost eleven and you're going to be late for work!"

Cracking one eye open a bit, I saw her. Victoria. Ugh. She was the epitome of the 'Evil Step Mother.' Damn, if I didn't hate this woman. Always making her grand entrance at the most inconvenient time. And yet maybe it wasn't inconvenient this time. My chest was aching from withholding my cries as I slept.

Sleep. Edward was only in my dream. Again. How long would I have to relive that perfect night before my heart would heal and I could move on? How many times would I press my body to his as we danced alone, look into his beautiful face, his eyes, hear his melodic voice singing to me, touch his face and wake to find myself dreaming of him once again.?

Oh, my aching heart.

"What are you doing in here, _Vicky_?" I asked rolling over to face away from her awful stare. She hated it when I called her that. _\_

_Get out of my room and leave me alone, evil wench._

"You know as well as I do that you need to be up, probably a couple hours ago. Besides, I don't like having people sleeping while I'm awake doing everything for them." Victoria sneered, fluffing her long red hair in my vanity mirror.

"Boy, Dad must _love_ living with you…" I mumbled sarcastically into my pillow.

"What was that Isabella?" _I hate when she calls me that. _I could just picture in my mind how Victoria raised her left eyebrow, cocked her head to the right side and placed both hands on her hips. Seen that a few too many times…

Rolling over to finally face her, I found that my mental picture was standing just as I thought she would be. Figures.

"I said, 'Dad must love living with you.' Ever stop to think that maybe he might want to sleep in some mornings? Or that maybe he goes fishing a lot for a reason?" Standing up from my bed, I walked to the vanity behind Victoria and grabbed my things for the bathroom.

"You know, you might want to remember that your father loves me. He was a broken man when your mother died and I was there for him. And where were you? Oh! That's right. Off with your little boyfriend, Edmond." She was trying to make her point and knew that bringing up Mom would do it. Damn her.

"First of all, his name was EDWARD. And secondly, how dare you talk about my mother. You all but jumped on Charlie after the funeral. You were always jealous that he chose Renee over you and when she died, you were right there to take her place weren't you?" I felt myself getting hotter with rage. I relaxed my hands that were cramped from clenching them so tightly. As I stared at Victoria, her face started to soften and her eyes grew wet with tears.

"I have always loved Charlie, that's never been a secret. When Renee died, a part of me died with her. She was one of my closest friends. I only wanted to comfort your father. And he wanted to do the same for me. We helped each other. And if you can't see that, if you _won't_ see that… well, that's just your problem." She stared off into nothing when she finished. Her shoulders had slumped a bit and a couple of her welling tears had spilled over. I almost felt bad for her. Seeing her get so emotional and be slightly open about what had happened showed the softer side to Victoria that I'd hardly seen. I could count on one hand how many times I'd seen Victoria cry in the eight years she'd been married to Charlie.

Coming back to the present, and my bedroom, she sniffed loudly, straightened her shoulders and dabbed at her moist cheeks with a tissue that she pulled from under her watchband.

"Besides, it's better for you that that silly Edward left. He was all wrong for you," I should have known that 'Nice Vicky' wouldn't have lasted long…

"You're better off without him. And now you have Jacob. And, oh, he's so much better suited for you." She trailed off as she moved past me and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

_Better off without him. How could that possibly be? And yet I needed to be. Edward wasn't coming back. I should know that by now. If three years without him hadn't proved it, I didn't know what would._

Shower. I needed to shower. Despite all the things I was feeling towards Victoria right now, she was right on one thing. I needed to get ready for work before I was late.

Closing the door behind me, I set my bag of things on the back of the toilet and started the water. Dropping my pink flannel pants and grey tank on the floor, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

_It's no wonder he never wrote to me. It was probably an easy way out of our relationship for him. He was all the way across the country, where he wouldn't have to worry about running into me at the grocery store or the library or anywhere else for that matter_.

Climbing into the shower, I made quick work of washing and conditioning my hair and shaving my legs.

_Better off without him? _I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. What would things be like now if Edward hadn't left? Or if he had written to me like he'd said he would? Maybe we'd still be together, enjoying every moment. Making plans to get married and what we'd name our children.

_Stop it. I don't have the time or energy to wonder the What If's where Edward is concerned. _

Getting out of the shower, I heard the doorbell ring and Victoria's sickly sweet voice mumble something to whoever was at the house. I grabbed my towel and started grabbing at my dripping hair with it. Just as I finished and wrapped it around my body, there was a soft rapping on the door. Five knocks to be exact.

After returning the gesture with two knocks of my own, I cracked open the door to the face I knew would be there.

Jacob.

"Hey, I thought I'd drive you to work today so I could take you somewhere when you get off." The smile on his face was always genuine and I knew he wanted to be with me. Wanted to marry me. And I knew that he loved me, but I couldn't find the words to echo him whenever he told me so. It didn't feel right. And yet Jacob insisted on saying it countless times despite knowing that I didn't feel exactly the same for him as he did for me.

I suppose in a way I loved him. He made me happy, made me smile and laugh. He took me out to dinner, bought me flowers and various gifts. Charlie liked him, as did Victoria. They were both always saying how great a couple we made, and how beautiful our children would be. The thought of it seemed happy enough for me. Imagining myself with three or four kids running around the house, beautifully tanned with the same jet black hair as their father, all calling me 'Mommy,' all I ever wanted… with Edward.

"Hey, you okay Bells?" Jacob's face was the picture of concern. He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him squarely.

_I must've been staring off again. How does he stand me? _

Smiling up at his strong, dark face I knew that he would make a loving husband and wonderful father. He'd asked me on several occasions for my hand in marriage and I'd always come up with an excuse of some kind. But no more. The next time he asked, I would accept. It was time to put the possibility of Edward and I in the past and move on.

"Yeah, sorry. I think the water was a little too hot. Just a bit light headed there for a second."

Jacob pulled me into a hug and led me down the hall to my room. After sitting me on the edge of my bed, he got down eye-level with me.

"So are you good for a drive after work today? I want to take you somewhere."

_Okay, so maybe I'd be engaged by the end of the day. Won't Rose love that?_

"Yeah, sure. That would be great. But I'd better hurry and get ready for work before I don't have a job anymore." Smiling at me, he wrapped his hand around mine and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"That would give us even that much more time to spend together," he said happily. "I'll be downstairs waiting for you then."

I hurried to my closet and pulled a close fitting white t-shirt of the hangar and my favorite wide-leg khakis from the shelf. Back in the bathroom, I quickly blow dried my hair and pulled up the top middle section to keep it out of my face. Giving myself one last once-over in my full length mirror, I skipped down the stairs. I was going to make the most out of my relationship with Jacob. He deserved better than I had been giving him for a long time now and it was definitely my turn to make him happy for a change.

Jacob stood from the kitchen table as I entered and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the counter.

Grabbing my free hand, he stood just a step away and looked at me from head to toe, "Wow. You look really great, Bella. Maybe I should hang around while you're working so all the guys know to keep their hands off of you."

"Thanks, but I seriously doubt that will be necessary since most of the guys at the salon are gay. Are you ready to go? I'll be cutting it close." I smiled at him genuinely for the first time in too long a time. His desire to keep me for himself and no other was kind of endearing and brought happiness to my heart.

"Sure thing. Thanks for the muffins, Victoria. And the advice." He smiled at her and she returned with an added wink.

_Oh great. Victoria's in on something? No doubt she was talking to him about asking me to marry him again. Well, won't all your dreams just come true, Vicky, when I say YES this time around._

Arms crossed over her chest, Victoria looked at me smugly and said, "Have a nice time tonight, Isabella. Please try to be quiet when you come in."

Rolling my eyes, I muttered an, "Mmm-hmm." and pulled Jacob out the front door.

"I'm really gonna be late. We have to hurry."

"Anything for you, Bella."

Taking a deep breath, I smiled, knowing he really meant that.

**Ok, first chapter of first story... please review so I know where I should take things. But please be nice!! THANKS!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Again, though I'm sad to say that Edward is NOT mine (nor the other characters) the story and plot are. :) The characters belong to the brilliant mind of Mrs. Meyer.**

_CHAPTER 2_

_APOV_

_Where is that girl? I knew I should have called her just to make sure she was awake. Good thing I talked to Jackie before she left._

Bella was going to be late for work and I was at my wits end with the morning receptionist. He was constantly making stupid jokes with sexual innuendos to all of the stylists at the salon. Why he still worked here was beyond my comprehension.

"Mike, can you tell me who my twelve o'clock is today?"

Nothing.

"MIKE!"

Mike was trying to swoon a pretty brunette headed girl that had come in earlier for a haircut. And he was failing miserably. She had "NO" written all over her body, but it might as well have had "Take Me Now! I'm Yours!" tattooed on it the way Mike carried on with his disgusting version of compliments.

_Seriously, dude? If you can't read her body language screaming HELL NO, you really are a lost cause._

"Listen, I'm not interested in going anywhere with you at any time so if you'll excuse me," With a swing of her long, silky hair, she sauntered out the front door. No doubt she was swaying her hips a little more than needed just to rub it in Mike's face that he was NOT going to get any kind of attention from her.

"Mike, I swear, if you creep out one more client enough that they don't come back, I will permanently remove that stupid grin off your face with my stiletto heel. Now, who is my twelve o'clock?" I was ready to rip his face off right then, but didn't know how I'd explain to Jackie how we lost our morning receptionist.

_Sigh. I guess I'll just have to hope that someone better comes along to take the dumbass's job. Until then…_

"Calm down, short stack. She'll be back, don't worry. She's just playing hard to get and I'm the champ at that game." Mike piped in, confusing stupidity with flirting.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. And don't ever call me that again. So my twelve is who??" I was losing patience by this time.

_Hurry it up buddy, before I come around that desk and kick your ass!_

"Looks like it's Miss Rosalie again. How many times a week does she come in here? And then again, who cares? She's hot!" Mike had the hots for Rosalie more than any other client that stepped foot into the Lunatic Fringe Salon.

Thinking it would be funny to watch Mike suffer at the hands of Rose, I decided to play with him a bit. A task that was all too easy.

"Oh good! I guess I'll go get my things ready. And you should too. She mentioned something about your shirt the last time she was here." And with that, I walked away knowing he would make it into something it wasn't. Little did he know that her comment on his shirt was that in his attempt to show off his puny muscles, he actually looked like Gus-Gus on Cinderella the first time he tries on his too small shirt. The sight of Mike wandering around the front area, checking out his own reflection in the windows was both pathetic and disgusting.

I got to my station and gathered the tools I'd need for Rose. Blow dryer, flat iron, round brush, teasing comb, blood red nail polish. It was always the same thing for Rosalie and she always looked amazing when we finished. Chipped nail polish was a big no-no for her, so I always painted them when she came for a hair appointment.

Rosalie, Bella and I had become fast friends at the salon. It wasn't hard to love someone who detested Mike as much as I did. That was something the three of us shared.

I'd been at Lunatic Fringe for eight months or so now and was drawn to Bella her first day. Mike seemed to be drawn to her as well and wouldn't leave her alone so I stepped in and saved her from being guilted into spending any amount of time with him.

Rosalie had been one of my first clients here and my attention to details in both hair and fashion insured she would be my client for as long as I worked here. We were friends right away and after introducing Bella, the three of us were inseparable at work. We teamed up and made sure that Mike was kept firmly in his place while we were there.

"Hey Alice! Sorry I'm late… is Jackie around?" Bella came to stand next to me as I waited for Rose in my chair, flipping through a magazine.

"I think she's out to lunch right now, but don't worry. I told her I thought you might be running a little late today so you're ok."

"You're the best, Alice. Thank you!"

Bella seemed happy. More than usual.

_I wonder if something happened with Jacob? All I can say is that after hearing her story involving her old love Edward, Jacob had better be good to her and treat her right. Although all I doubt I need to worry about that. The way her acts around her and the way he speaks to her says he wouldn't do anything to cause her pain. And a good thing too. I may be small and Rose may be pretty but we're fierce fighters when it comes to friends. Especially Bella._

"No problem. Watch out for Mike up there. He's on a roll today." I warned.

"Thanks. I'll keep it in mind while I try to get him out the door." Bella smiled as she made her way to the reception desk to take over for the rest of the day.

BPOV

_Great. Mike was still here? He should've been gone more than a half hour ago. And then again, I should've been here more than a half hour ago. Stupid dream. Kept me in bed longer than I should have been. Curse my memory for bringing up that night so many times._

"Hey gorgeous, good to see you made it here safely." Mike. Just the sound of his voice was irritating. Let alone having to look at him while he spoke.

"Yeah. Don't call me gorgeous." I snapped. Today could very possibly be the beginning of a new life for me and I didn't want Mike to be anywhere when I looked back on this day.

"You can go now. I've got things under control here. Thanks for sticking around until I got here." I tried to not look at him, shuffling some papers and receipts around on the desk, while I waited for him to take the hint and leave.

"Yeah, no problem. You know, you could make it up to me and go with me to the town fair this weekend."

_Gag. I think I just might get sick._

"Uh, I don't think so. For one thing, I have a boyfriend. You remember him? Tall, dark, handsome, _strong?_ I'm sure you've met him here before."

Mike seemed to remember and unconsciously took a step back form where he'd been standing right next to me.

"And secondly, I have come in early countless times to cover for you and this is the first time in 2 months you've had to help me. So why don't you do me the favor and not ask me out again?" My fake smile was plastered to my face, eyebrows raised, again, waiting for Mike to take the hint. Lucky for me, this time he did. Finally.

As Mike was about to say something else, probably stupid, the door to the salon opened and in walked Jackie, the salon owner. She was beautiful both inside and out, coffee in one hand and smiling like she had everything she'd ever wanted or dreamed of. That is, until she saw Mike.

"Newton, you're off now right? OK, so out you go. Oh, and could you drop off the garbage in the dumpster on your way out? Awesome, thanks." Jackie waved him out with her free hand and took a long sip of her coffee with the other.

Not able to compose an intelligent thought that could buy him more time in the salon, Mike hung his head and walked to the back of the salon, picking up the three bags of garbage on his way.

"I don't know why he still works here." Jackie said.

"Thank you!" Alice cheered from her station.

"I know, I know. I'm looking for a replacement but haven't had any luck yet so we all just have to deal with him and his obnoxious behavior a while longer. See you all later." Jackie gave us all a small wave and a smile and went into her office, closing the door behind her.

Alice came from the work floor and stood beside me, resting her head against my shoulder. Sighing loudly she said, "Man, I hope Jackie find someone soon. I really don't want to have to touch any part of Mike with my precious stilettos."

We both laughed at that as the front door opened again.

There may as well have been angels singing somewhere as Rosalie stepped into the salon with her flowing blond hair fluttering about from the gust of wind the door had made. She looked perfect as always. Her entire outfit was perfectly coordinated, much like Alice's always was, right down to her purse. I couldn't imagine standing in the closet long enough to figure out something like that.

"Good afternoon ladies," Sheesh. Even her voice was perfect.

"Hey, you're lucky you arrived when you did. Mike's already gone home for the day." Alice seemed bummed that Mike didn't have to face Rose. It might've been fun to watch, I had to admit.

"Oh damn. I even thought about what evil things I could say to him if he dared to open his mouth."

"You'll have to save them for next time then, Rose, " I laughed.

"Too right. Alice? Shall we?"

"We shall!"

The two of them linked arms and strutted their way to the shampoo bowls.

_I love those two._

The rest of the day went by mostly uneventful. Greeting clients and taking phone calls for appointments, chatting with Alice and Rose, trying to give relationship advice to Tyler, another stylist, on what to do with his seemingly difficult boyfriend, restocking the product displays. All things in a typical day at work.

I checked the clock and found that time had gone by more quickly than I had assumed and it was ten minutes to six.

Ten minutes. Then Jacob would be here and we'd drive to some unknown location, Jacob would propose yet again, but this time would be different. This time I would say yes and begin a new life for myself without the constant wonder of Edward. This time I would think of someone other than myself and make Jake happy even if it wasn't my picture-perfect marriage. I loved him enough to be happy with him for years to come and raise our kids together. It would be enough. At least I hoped so.

Alice broke me from my thoughts, "Big plans for tonight?"

I smiled and said, "I don't know yet, but Jake should be here any minute and wants to take me somewhere. He didn't say where, but I'm sure I can guess what will happen when we get to wherever we're going."

It was Alice's turn to smile as she gathered my hands in her own.

"Bella, you deserve to be happy. And I hope that you can find that with Jacob. I know you've told me countless times that you don't love him like you had loved Edward, but I just wanted to let you know that no matter what or who you choose, as long as you're happy, I'm happy for you. But whoever it is, they better not do wrong by you or they'll have Rose and I to answer to."

As Alice finished and gave me a hug, I saw Jacob pull up in his old truck. Smiling, I looked down to Alice, who gave me a wink and then went to clean up her station.

"Jackie, I'll see you tomorrow!" I called in the direction of her office.

Her head poked around the corner and she gave me a smile and a wave.

"See ya hon! Have a wonderful night!"

As I turned to walk out the door, I ran into something. Or someone.

"Jake!"

He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. Pulling back from me, he looked me in the eye and asked, "Are you ready?"

That could have so many meanings. Ready to go. Ready to move on. To accept his proposal of marriage. All of which I wanted to say "no" to, but I didn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. And I certainly didn't want to make Jake more miserable that he already was with me, though he'd deny it completely. It couldn't be easy for him to continue pursuing me when I never gave him all of me. But he seemed happy enough with what little part of me I'd shared with him and if that's what he wanted, what he needed, then who was I to deny him? At least one of us could be happy, and I would be content to know that I had given him that happiness.

"Yep, where're we off to?" I questioned.

"You'll see." he smiled.

The look on his face told me that he had something planned. Something he was excited to show me. Or ask me? I grinned back at him if only because I loved the expression on his face. The one that reminded me of a little boy that knew a secret and was dying to tell.

_Better off without him._ Victoria's words echoed once again in my mind and at that moment, I thought maybe she could be right. Much as I hated to admit it, maybe she and Charlie had been right in thinking I could find happiness with Jacob and finally move on from the shell of me that I'd been living in since Edward had left.

Stepping out into the gentle breeze blowing outside, I felt Jacob slip his arm around my waist and give me a squeeze. I followed suit and wrapped my arm around his back rubbing his side with my thumb.

He looked down at me, face completely beaming with love and I couldn't help but smile and sigh and I leaned into his side. He helped me into the truck and then made his way to the driver's side and started it. Reaching to grab my hand and rest it on his thigh, we exited the parking lot and hopped on the freeway. In an instant I knew where we were headed.

The beach. And our future together.

**Where, oh, where is Edward? Patience my pretties... Patience. **

**Please R & R! THANKS! :)**


End file.
